The Kreutzer Sonata

By: Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the world’s greatest novelists, Leo Tolstoy was also the author of a number of superb short stories, one of his best known being “The Kreutzer Sonata.” This macabre story involves the murder of a wife by her husband. It is a penetrating study of jealousy as well as a piercing complaint about the way in which society educates men and women in matters of sex - a serious condemnation of the mores and attitudes of the wealthy, educated class.

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) was born in Russia. His parents, who died when he was young, were of noble birth. He served in the army in the Caucasus and Crimea, where he wrote his first stories. He is especially known for his masterpieces, War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877).

Public Domain (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Love, Marriage, Family:: Wine, Women, Music

"Love, marriage, family,—all lies, lies, lies."
- Leo Tolstoy, The Krutzer Sonata

First, let me start this review by stating I think Anna Karenina might just be a perfect novel. So, I love Tolstoy. War and Peace, also amazes me and easily belongs on the list of Great World Novels. But 'The Kreutzer Sonata' plays like the writings of an over-indulged, philosophically-stretched, cranky, Fundamentalist older man. It is the sad, second wife to Anna Karenina*. That said, I enjoyed the structure. It is basically a man, Pozdnyshev, discussing his feelings on marriage, morality, and family on a train ride with some strangers. During this discussion he admits that in a jealous rage he once killed his wife (and was later aquited).

The story was censored briefly in 1890 (its censorship was later overturned), but that didn't stop Theodore Roosevelt calling Tolstoy a "sexual moral pervert". The novel does allude to wanking, immorality, adultery, abortion, etc. Which is funny, because the whole premise of the book is to rage against our moral failings. In a later piece Tolstoy wrote (Lesson of the"The Kreutzer Sonata") defending the novella, he basically explained his views:

1. Men are basically immoral perverts with the opposite sex when young. Society and families wink at their dissoluteness.
2. The poetic/romantic ideal of "falling in love" has had a detrimental impact on morality.
3. The birth of children has lost its pristine significance and the family has been degraded even in the "modern" view of marriage.
4. Children are being raised NOT to grow into moral adults, but to entertain their parents. They are seen as entertainments of the family.
5. Romatic ideas of music, art, dances, food, etc., has contributed and fanned the sexcual vices and diseases of youth.
6. The best years (youth) of our lives are spent trying to get our "freak on" (my term, not Count Tolstoy's). That period would be better spent not chasing tail, butserving one's country, science, art, or God.
7. Chasity and celibacy are to be admired and marriage and sex should be avoided. If we were really "Christian" we would not "bump uglies" (again, my term not the Count's).

It might seem like I am warping Tolstoy's argument a bit, but really I am not. I think the best response to Tolstoy came in 1908 at a celebration of Tolstoy's 80th* from G.K. Chesterton (not really a big libertine; big yes, libertine no):

"Tolstoy is not content with pitying humanity for its pains: such as poverty and prisons. He also pities humanity for its pleasures, such as music and patriotism. He weeps at the thought of hatred; but in The Kreutzer Sonata he weeps almost as much at the thought of love. He and all the humanitarians pity the joys of men." He went on to address Tolstoy directly: "What you dislike is being a man. You are at least next door to hating humanity, for you pity humanity because it is human”

* There are even a couple lines that seem to borrow scenes from, or allude to, Anna Karenina:
"throw myself under the cars, and thus finish everything."
"I was still unaware that ninety-nine families out of every hundred live in the same hell, and that it cannot be otherwise. I had not learned this fact from others or from myself. The coincidences that are met in regular, and even in irregular life, are surprising."
** Which, if the backward math works, means Kreutzer Sonata was written/published when Tolstoy was in his early 60s.

An in-depth first-person story of a man's psyche.

Simon Prebble (The Narrator) has delivered some great narrations over the years including some other works by Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and The Kreutzer Sonata definitely lives up to his standards!

The Kreutzer Sonata is a slower paced novel compared to some of Leo Tolstoy other works. However, this is an interesting insight on a man's psyche as the protagonist recounts his entire life up to the moment he murders his wife in a jealous rage.

Should you listen to the book? Yes, but just be aware of what type of book this is before you purchase. The novella was published in 1889, and was promptly censored by the Russian authorities, and even Theodore Roosevelt called Tolstoy a "sexual moral pervert" because of this novel.

Tolstoy is a genius, of course

Tolstoy's novella The Kreutzer Sonata is disturbing and will make you question the author's views of women. However, the writing is so impeccably written that you cannot help but find yourself immerse in the world of his main character. He is a suspicious, jealous, methodical, and crazed man who is confessing the murder of his wife. Because of its first person narrative and direct style, the book is an intimate look inside the mind of this man. It makes the story feel more claustrophobic and voyeuristic -- and emphasizes the nature of the crime. It is an uncomfortable read, and I believe that made it more powerful.

I know that the story mirrors a bit too closely some of Tolstoy's own views on marriage and women, but I did not find the book to be too autobiographical or reflective of the writer. I was able to read the book without thinking about Tolstoy, and although I am a proud feminist I was able to set aside my modern views and enjoy the book for what it is.

Leo Tolstoy was kind of a monster

I understand he was a great writer, but in real life he was also kind of a terrible human being and this novella is the best example of that I've read so far.

The narrator is so anti-human sexuality and so ridiculously rationalizing of his own insane behavior that I almost want to believe that it's deliberate. That we have here an unreliable and unaware narrator like the guy from The Telltale Heart or John Fowles' The Collector. But having read Anna Karenina and knowing a little bit about Tolstoy's real-life marriage, I suspected that this might not be the case and a quick bit of internet reading confirms it. These are Tolstoy's actual views.

I wish I could say the views on marriage and women and sexuality were left in the age of the Tsars, but alas, a peek into the darker corners of Twitter will expose you to the same views, less artfully expressed. Contraception is bad because it degrades women! Uh-huh. Sure. It's totally not because it gives women freedom over their own bodies that makes some men uncomfortable.

The views ARE artfully expressed and the performance is quite good but I never want to return to this book or even see it in my audible library. I will be exchanging it posthaste, preferable for something written by a woman.

so good!

nice and short, very well read. a great story about love, jealousy, and revenge. and the human condition.

Dark polemic

Less a narrative, more a 3.5 hour dark polemic on love, sex, marriage and murder. Well written, well narrated (Prebble is one of the best), but this purchase was not my cup of chai.

Very good short story

Tale of a man's jealousy over his wife's affections for another man. Tremendous reading, enjoyed it.

Dark tale of madness and murder

The story of a man's descent into madness and paranoia resulting in the murder of his wife. Very well narrated.

Tolstoy's censored novella

This short novel by Tolstoy was an unexpected addition to my Audible library. As with all his narrations, Simon Prebble's delivery elevates the narrator's rant on sexual indulgence and the justification offered for his actions.

Brilliant

How relevant and horrible. How well does Tolstoy understand what we all have understood at one point or another. The overwhelming insanity of jealousy and rage. The narrator was perfect.